Bolsonaro has been detained after authorities determined he posed a concrete flight risk while under house arrest.
The ex-president was found guilty of planning a military coup in September and handed more than over two decades in prison, but he continued under house arrest pending court reviews.
Brazilian Supreme Court Justice Alexandre de Moraes said the action to imprison the 70-year-old politician was a precautionary step after recent developments emerged.
This included attempting to break his tracking device and a call for a supporters' gathering that could "allow for a possible escape.
Judicial Records Show Escape Concerns
In a paperwork permitting the custody, the judge said intelligence from the unit overseeing Bolsonaro's house arrest suggested the ex-president's plan to remove the surveillance device to ensure success in his getaway".
This, it said, would be made easier by the disorder caused by the demonstration called by his son.
His child, his son Flávio, who serves as a legislator, called for a meeting of his supporters near the former president's residence to take place on Saturday night.
His son wrote on digital networks on Friday: Will you battle for your nation, or watch it all from your mobile device there on your couch? I call on you to struggle with us."
He said the vigil would be so supporters could offer prayers for his physical condition and for the reestablishment of democratic governance in our land."
Diplomatic Refuge Fears
Part of the judge's ruling was the potential of his move to foreign missions near the dwelling, considering that the probes revealed a record of arranging to request asylum through a consular facility", a statement said.
The court filing underscores that the American diplomatic mission in the federal district, Brazil's capital, is located around 13km from Bolsonaro's home.
Worldwide Consequences
His judicial problems have generated frustration from fellow populist conservative American leader Trump, leading him to implement a 50% tariff on goods coming from Brazil.
He is being held in a federal law enforcement building in the capital and will experience a detention review on the following day.
Recent Legal Requests
It was only on last Friday that the his legal team asked the Supreme Court to permit him to fulfill his full incarceration period under house arrest, with digital surveillance.
They also asked that he be allowed to leave his home for medical care, saying he demanded frequent medical attention for lung conditions and other health problems.
Background on Conviction
Bolsonaro was found guilty of leading a scheme aimed at maintaining his control after he was defeated in the national vote to his left-wing rival, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva.
Top judicial officials said that he was aware of a plan which involved plans to kill the current president and his running partner, Alckmin, and to imprison and murder Alexandre de Moraes - the High Court judge who has been overseeing the former president's case.
The conspiracy was stopped because it couldn't obtain the endorsement of the army and air force commanders. His successor was sworn in without problem on the first day of 2023.
But a seven days after, on the eighth of January, numerous his followers invaded and destroyed government buildings in the federal district, the capital city.
The law enforcement stepped in and around fifteen hundred individuals were taken into custody.
The magistrates found that the protesters had been incited by Bolsonaro whose scheme, they said, was for the Brazilian military to intervene, bring back stability and return him to office.
At the time, his attorneys called the decades-long sentence "absurdly excessive.
He was also barred from seeking elected position until twenty-sixty - eight years later after the conclusion of his imprisonment.
The ex-leader called the trial a "witch hunt and said it was intended to stop him competing in the 2026 presidential election.
